“The Society of Jesus is a mixed reality as the whole church is,” Father Zollner said, when asked about the lack of transparency in the Father Rupnik case. “We are not better at this. And it has been proven now, in the eyes of everybody, again.”

Jesuit Father Hans Zollner will be a consultant for the Diocese of Rome’s office dedicated to safeguarding minors and vulnerable people.

Three Jesuit astronomers and the 16th-century pope who commissioned the Gregorian calendar have recently been honored with having asteroids named after them.

With a “firm intention to proceed with measures to ensure that situations similar to those reported will not occur again,” Father Verschueren said the Jesuits will begin an internal process that “may result in disciplinary action.”

“Pope Francis’ message is really about a personal relationship with Jesus,” Kizito Kiyimba, S.J., to America’s Vatican correspondent. “His message remains after him.”

A prominent Jesuit artist whose mosaics decorate churches around the globe has been barred from pursuing his artistic activity after 15 more people came forward with fresh accusations against him of spiritual, sexual and psychological abuse.